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This weekend my local CMA chapter sponsored a ride around the Chesapeake Bay. Started out in White Plains MD, crossed the Henry Nice bridge into Virginia, down highway 17 to Norfolk and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (highway 13). We hit some back roads and spent the night in Exmore VA. Got up this morning had breakfast and got ready to head out. As soon as I picked up the bike it felt heavy to the point I check the front tire which has a quick pressure valve stem cover that is green if it has 40 PSI, yellow for 35 etc. It showed green.

Everyone was starting up to head out so I got on the bike and started out as well but it just felt like the front end was heavy and wanted to flop over. At the first light the rider behind me asked if I was ok and I asked her to check my back tire but then the light turned green and off we went. After a few green lights we finally got a red and she said that my tire looked low but not completely flat. Normally I MIGHT lose a couple of pounds in a month and I had checked the pressure the previous morning. We had a few more miles to our first gas stop which was about 20 miles from the hotel since we didn't stop for gas before we got to the hotel.

When we pulled over over I found two nails a couple of inches apart. I had a tire plug kit and air pump but didn't want to take the chance with two so close together. And after riding for ~20 miles on a very low tire they were quite hot

Lessoned learned. If something don't feel right it probably isn't. I was too worried about delaying the group while I tried to figure out was was wrong.

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I have just over 8k on them, I was thinking around 2-3k more so I guess 3/4 life is better than new tires. I just wish I could've finished the ride with Elvira like in the first picture instead of the second

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I actually carry a plug kit and "Slime" brand of electic tire pump in my XR all the time. Remember those huge bags these bikes got, may as well carry some flat repair items. I got those items as mentioned but I still do not have a quick way to hook the pump to the battery. I got to get an end to hook to the battery tender hookup, then I will be more prepaired. Good thing you got your bike home without a mishap!thumb up

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Here is what I carry with me all the time. Sounds like pretty much the same thing you do. For connecting it to the battery, I spliced a cigarette lighter extension I bought at Walmart with a spare battery tender pigtail I had lying around. Just remember that the connection is just the opposite of how you would hook it up to the battery. Connect the black end to the center connector and the red to the outer connector of the extension. I was going to connect it straight to the pump but it is a lot more versatile connecting to the extension instead.

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A plug will hold up fine. I have had one in for over 2K with zero issues or loss of pressure. That tire still has plenty of life left in it, but then again I'm cheap and don;t like replacing tires when I don't have to.

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If you use a battery tender to plug the pump into make sure you change the fuse in the tender wires. Most are fused at 3 amps which will not run a tire pump. It would be a really bad day if you needed the pump and it blew the fuse.

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I can't remember anymore if it already had a fuse in it when I built it but I did try and find out how amps the pump draws but couldn't. I didn't figure that it would need a 15 amp fuse so I put a 7.5 amp in and it works fine. I did top off a tire by adding a few pounds of air but that only took about a minute or so. I also carry spare fuse in my tool kit as well thumb up

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I did forget to mention how impressed I am with Progressive insurance though. I was in Onley VA when I called for Roadside Assistance. At first the agent stated that she would have me towed to Norfolk but that is 3 1/2 hours away from home. I asked if there was anywhere further north and she then asked me where I'd like it taken. I didn't think they would go for it but I asked to have it towed to Annapolis MD (sorry half_crazy) which is about 150 miles away (twice the distance from Norfolk) and she said no problem it was covered except that I had to pay for the bridge toll .

Most times I've had towing coverage you were limited to the closest point of service and you have to cover anything above that. Also since they called the towing company they paid him directly instead of having me pay and then going through the hassle of filing a reimbursement claim. I was really impressed that Progressive took care of me like they did thumb up

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Have you ever considered using Ride-On? I put some in when I changed out my wheels and it balances the wheels nicely. I haven't had anything in the tire yet to check the sealing properties but it is supposed to work.

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Oh well, all things considered it all worked out for the best thumb up

As for Ride On, I've considered it but I think I would rather know there are foreign objects in my tire. I can choose to pull and plug them, which I would've done had there only been one nail. With Ride On you could go a long time without even knowing there is a problem. May not be an issue but I'm not sure I like that.

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Have you ever considered using Ride-On? I put some in when I changed out my wheels and it balances the wheels nicely. I haven't had anything in the tire yet to check the sealing properties but it is supposed to work.

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Great idea with the power port splice to the tender plug! When there's a will there's a way! As fas as ride-on and wanting to know if something is stuck in your tire chances are you'll feel it or hear it if a nail is stuck in your tire. The bonus with ride-on is that when you pull an item out of your tire it plugs it for you. The bad part is that it only work in a 2-5" wide area (depending on tire width) around the diameter of your tire and will not stop sidewall leaks.

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